Gov’t yet to pay Contractors working on Ho-Adidome Road

Contractors working on the Ho -Adidome trunk road in the Volta region are yet to receive monies from the ministry of finance to enable them complete work on the road, three weeks after President Mahama announced the release of funds to that effect during a day’s inspection tour of the road.

This was disclosed on Sunday to the Chief of Staff Mr. Prosper Douglas Bani when paid a day’s working visit to the region to ascertain the progress of work on the road since the president’s last visit.

The resident engineer in charge of the project, Mr. Divine Quarshigah, told the chief of staff and his entourage that, though some culvert works are ongoing on the road, work is progressing at slow pace due to the delays in the release of funds to the contractors, Ussuya Ghana Ltd, PMC and Jani-CORP enable them fully mobilise back to site.

‘The contractors have not received any payment after the president came’ he said and explained further that his checks as of last Friday revealed that the payment process has left the Ghana Highway authority to the finance ministry.

The delay in the release of the monies to contractors according to the resident engineer is one the major challenges hampering the speedy completion of the 48km road, with the second challenge being heavy rains which disrupt work because of the porous nature of some portions of the area.

A box culvert under construction on the road

The road which is packaged in three lots, comprises of an 18.6km stretch from Ho to Adaklu-Hlekpe for lot one and is being executed by Ussuya Gh Ltd, a 14.4km stretch between Adaklu-Helekpe and Adaklu-Ahunda for lot two, being worked on by PMC constructions and the third lot being constructed by Jani-CORP Gh Ltd is a 15km stretch between Adaklu-Ahunda and Mafi-Kpedzeglo.

The rate of completion of the three lots according to Mr. Quarshigah, stands at 48.5 per cent for Lot one, 50.2 for Lot two and 41 per cent for Lot three.

Despite the delays, the resident engineer however assured the chief of staff and his entourage that the road will be fully completed by the end of December 2014.

Responses

The chief of staff, Mr. Prosper Douglas Bani in response, said ‘I don’t want payment to be an issue after the president’s visit’ and promised to follow up on the process to ensure that the contractors gets the monies to complete the road on schedule.

This, he said will alleviate the inconveniences caused by the closure of the Adomi bridge for major rehabilitation to residents.

Madam Fafa Adinyira, Madam. Mary Agbenyenu and Mr. Sky Ganaku, the Chief executives of Ho Municipal, Adaklu and Central Tongu districts respectively, who also accompanied the Chief of Staff on his tour with the deputy regional minister, Mr. Francis Ganyaglo, raised concerned about the quality of materials being use for the construction and urged the resident engineer to ensure the use of standard materials to ensure the longevity of the road when completed.

The chief of staff, who also inspected a 100 acre land earmarked for the construction of a regional sports complex and site for the aerodrome, reiterated the president’s commitment towards fulfilling all promises made to the region, including the eastern corridor road project.

He therefore urged residents to support government in its quest to bring development to all parts of the country including the Volta region, stating that ‘by the next couple of years, we should see tremendous development of the region.’

Other persons who accompanied the chief of staff included MP for Ho central, Mr. Benjamin Kpodo, Regional Chairman and Secretary of NDC respectively, Mr. Kwesi Aboagye and Mr. Simon Amegashie-Viglo as well as a host of other Municipal and district chief executives in the region.